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History

The first bishop of the Patriarchate of Antioch in Western Europe came in 1982. He was His Grace Gabriel (Saliby)[1], titular bishop of Palmyra and Vicar Bishop of the Patriarch. Under his leadership, the Vicariate grew in Austria, Britain, France, Germany and Switzerland. In its Autumn meeting of 2000, the Holy Synod of Antioch elevated the Vicariate to the status of Archdiocese and Sayedna Gabriel to Metropolitan.

Following the death of Sayedna Gabriel in October 2007, the archdiocese remained widowed until the following year. In the June 2008 Holy Synod, meeting at Balamand Monastery, Lebannon, it was resolved "Elected Metropolitan of Western Europe on June 17th is His Eminence JOHN (Yazigi), 53, former Titular Bishop of al-Hosn."